Doobie Brothers concert costs county about $32,000

The Doobie Brothers concert was the second time the county used its Horseshoe promotions account, which is used to pay expenses for bringing acts to the facility.

The Doobie Brothers concert was the second time the county used its Horseshoe promotions account, which is used to pay expenses for bringing acts to the facility.

Photo: MRT File Photo

Photo: MRT File Photo

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The Doobie Brothers concert was the second time the county used its Horseshoe promotions account, which is used to pay expenses for bringing acts to the facility.

The Doobie Brothers concert was the second time the county used its Horseshoe promotions account, which is used to pay expenses for bringing acts to the facility.

Photo: MRT File Photo

Doobie Brothers concert costs county about $32,000

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A recent concert brought to the area using the Midland County Horseshoe promotions account cost the county about $32,000, county commissioners learned in a presentation Tuesday. The information was shared after the approval of a $50,000 entertainment deposit related to The Doobie Brothers performance.

Overall, the county gets back about $18,000 from the mid-April rock concert at the Horseshoe amphitheater, according to numbers provided to the Reporter-Telegram.

“When you contrast that to other community things we do — today we approved $50,000 for the Fourth of July fireworks — we won’t get any of that back,” County Judge Mike Bradford said. “But that is also a community item for another sector of our community.”

In relation to the concert, commissioners in March approved making a $50,000 deposit, which was 50 percent of the guarantee. The remaining portion was to come from ticket sales revenue, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram report.

The Doobie Brothers concert was the second time the county used its Horseshoe promotions account, which is used to pay expenses for bringing acts to the facility.

Dooley Management Co., which the county has hired to run the Horseshoe complex, was tasked with promoting the event. There were 1,271 paid tickets and about 300 complimentary tickets, according to President Michael Dooley.

Through Live Nation entertainment company’s connection to the Vet Tix program, those who served in the military could attend the concert for free.

“We were thrilled — not only with the attendance — but the (number) of veterans that came out and enjoyed an evening at no charge,” Bradford said.

The county last used its promotions account when it paid expenses to bring comedian Jeff Foxworthy to the Horseshoe pavilion. The county spent more than it received in ticket revenue for that 2015 appearance.

For events that use the promotions account and generate net profit, the county’s policy calls for half of that money to be returned to that account. The remaining amount goes to the county’s general fund and is later transferred to an account for the Pick-Up Midland County trash collection challenge.

The account was created with an initial balance of $150,000 that had been moved from the county’s general fund. The money came from sales tax, Bradford previously told the Reporter-Telegram.

Also during Tuesday’s Commissioners’ Court meeting, commissioners approved the supplies and salary for an environmental investigator position in the Midland County District Attorney’s Office. The authorization, which is effective Friday, will use $162,000 from contingency and salary contingency.